Efforts to curb catalytic converter theft stay in motion

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This article was published 10/07/2023 (820 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One year after a local catalytic converter tagging program brought down thefts, Winnipeg Crime Stoppers is launching a media campaign to remind people to save their “cats.”

The Save Your Cat program allows drivers to bring their vehicles to participating auto service centres and have its catalytic converter engraved with the vehicle serial number and painted with high visibility paint for free.

The efforts are intended to deter thieves and unscrupulous scrap dealers. Orange stickers are also available for car windows to inform passers-by its catalytic converter has been engraved.

While provincial legislation requiring scrap metal buyers to record transaction details and a crackdown by police have dropped catalytic converter thefts by 80 per cent in Winnipeg this year so far, the $90,000 initiative (including commercials and billboards) is reminding people to stay vigilant, Crime Stoppers chairman Paul Johnson said Monday.

“We want to get the message out, get people to spend the time to get this done.”

In July and August, Crime Stoppers will be doubling its cash award (to $2,000) for tips on people stealing or illegally purchasing catalytic converters. The outreach campaign will be funded by the Winnipeg Police Service’s criminal property forfeiture department.

A catalytic converter, which reduces emissions and noise from a vehicle’s exhaust system, contains precious metals. Thieves cut it out from underneath the vehicle and sell it for scrap for $100-$500; replacement cost is $1,500 to $2,000.

A total of 70 shops in the city offer engraving when owners bring their vehicles in for other service work. In the past year, around 2,500 catalytic converters have been tagged, Johnson said.

Thefts are also down across the province, with a 70 per cent reduction compared to the first six months of 2022.

WPS Insp. Shawn Pike said despite the steps, thefts were still happening in neighbourhoods across Winnipeg.

“Not unlike what we see in other kinds of crimes, there’s people willing to take that risk regardless of what’s there,” he said.

“In a case like this… with the approach that’s been taken through Crime Stoppers, what we’re doing with our property crimes unit, the prevention measures that are out there, it’s surprising to me that people are still trying this in this jurisdiction — but they still are.”

In June 2022, investigators raided a scrap yard in Springfield as part of a four-month investigation, dubbed Project Precious. Two men were charged with trading in large quantities of stolen converters.

Reported thefts dropped by 95 per cent immediately after, but rates later rebounded, according to police data.

Winnipeg police previously said 1,801 catalytic converters were stolen in 2022, compared with 1,564 in 2021, and 284 in 2020.

The rate of converter thefts remains high across Canada and the United States, and the WPS said it is sharing details of the program with other jurisdictions to help them address the issue.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca